This year also sees Avusa publish an Afrikaans edition for the Western Cape Education Department and, for the first time the department has ordered a free copy of this much-needed supplement for every single matriculant in the Western Cape.

Every year Avusa commissions top teachers in their field to write new exemplars and memoranda which are checked and approved by curriculum advisors at the National Department of Basic Education. The supplement contains exemplars of exams and their answers for subjects that have the highest learner enrolment and gives learners the opportunity to test their exam readiness for the upcoming mocks and finals.

“The Matric Q&A supplement is an initiative to support learners and to prepare them in the best way possible to achieve positive results,” says Avusa Education publisher, Patti McDonald. “It is also aimed at reaching out to under-resourced schools where it will essentially promote a standard of education that will better prepare those Grade 12 learners for the exams and give them an idea of what they can expect.”

The supplement covers the syllabus for English First Additional Language, Physical Science, Life Sciences, Geography, Accounting and Information Technology, with a focus on Mathematics; a crucial intervention considering that last year 60 percent of matriculants achieved lower than 40 percent for their final mark in this subject.

The supplement has also been used as a great resource in Matric intervention programmes in deep rural KwaZulu-Natal in Sisonke and Obonjeni. The Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal, alone, ordered an additional 150 000 copies in 2010.

McDonald says, “Matriculants need all the help that they can get during this time and parents and teachers are urged to use these guides to encourage learners to make this process easier for them. In addition, I encourage readers of the Sunday Times and Sowetan who do not have a Matric student in their home to please donate their copy to a local school.”

The Matric Q&A will be published on 31 July in the Sunday Times and Monday, 1 August in Sowetan. Grade 12 learners will also be able to access the supplement online at www.timeslive.co.za and www.learn.co.za from Tuesday, 2 August. For more information on the guide, contact Patti McDonald, publisher of Avusa Education on 011 280 5565 or email her at [email protected].